18 na aral sa 18 na taon

I am so fortunate that my birthday is a national holiday (but it is not because of me, it is a day to commemorate the labor of the hardworking people, but it is kinda sad because for some, it is the day of protest due to the inequality and oppression that the employees experience) because I can take a break from any endeavor just to come home and spend time with my loved ones. However, sometimes, i hate this day coz it's one of those many days where ugly embarrassing pictures of my humble face pop out publicly lol thanks to my thoughtful friends for always reminding me how stressful my life has been (so far). joke lang love u guys!


My days on earth are numbered and as time passes by it gets fewer and fewer. Birthdays don't make our lives long, in fact, they remind us that our stay in this (promised or cursed, whichever you may see it) land is getting shorter (and shorter and shorter and…) but don't be senti, because it also means that we've been spending so much time collecting (evaluated) experiences and (shared) memories that are worth cherishing at the end of our journeys no matter how odd or absurd they may be.


Today, I turned my book to page 1 of my 19th year as a legendary human lol. I am half-hearted about how things around me changed all of a sudden. My friend, Erson, usually greets me Maligayang Paglabas (like how a wonderful child gets out of the mother's womb to see the beauty of the world) during my birthdays, however, this year is kinda sobering because I won't be able to go outside and hang out with family and friends in this joyous occasion. To compromise since I can't go out, I celebrated today by searching my inside (inner celebration yey!). And I am very glad to share with you my 18 na aral sa 18 na taon.



Lesson #1



Life gets a little more complicated as we age. But adulting is cool. College forced me to live independently and being away from my comfort zone pushed me to grow more. At first it was daunting but after some time, I realized that it is actually exciting. I learned to manage my own finances (it was troublesome) but whenever I balance my income and expenses and see that I saved a sum for future use, it starts to get into my nerves that I am formally adulting and (breeze please) I am a cool balancing queen!



Lesson #2



We all thirst but let us be wise in choosing how to quench our thirst. It is okay not to be okay, but just as seasons are made for change, our moods and emotions are also subject to shifts. This is so freakin' relevant to me as of the moment. I knew myself to be consistently inconsistent and I normally do not focus on the blues because I know it will change after some time. However, because of CoViD- 19 pandemic, I had no choice but to deal with my anxieties and identity crisis and ruminate because my mind is devoured by them so much. It took me a month to finally get back to my senses. I was thirsty and I looked for water to satisfy my groaning soul in social media, feeding myself with the negativities and it made me become thirstier. But thank God for using people to remind me about who the Living Water really is. As for me, it was Jesus, my irreducible source of energy. Yours is for you to find out!  



Lesson #3



We may feel alone but that is just a feeling. God is faithful. He never leaves, He never fails. A teacher in a recollection once told me that God is always present, it is just our awareness that is sometimes absent. There are times when we feel distant to God, maybe it is His way for us to seek Him not for the feeling that He gives whenever we feel that He is present, but for us to seek Him as a loving God more than the emotions and the goosebumps. He is there, looking at us, smiling, cheering us up as we come to Him.



Lesson #4



Empathy should be one of our central virtues. We all have different realities. It is through empathy that we are able to situate ourselves in the shoes of other people not to know their present situation but to feel their plights and fuel us to move to actions for them. I thought life is fair but it just isn't. It doesn't mean that we should only consider those who are part of our circle, we also have to seek those who are not. After all, no man is an island and life is meant to be shared.



Lesson #5



One is blessed to have a family. My sisters annoy me so much (so hard-headed brats) whenever they do not want to wash the dishes and when the house is messy and sometimes I wish I were an only child (harsh) lol. But, when I left home for college, I realized that life is boring without having old kittens to argue with about silly matters. No family is perfect but having a good family is a privilege because some hope to have them. Our home is really noisy but it is open for people trying to find one. :'>



Lesson #6



Life is a process and may be a painful one but we have to learn all we can. We cannot be the person we want ourselves to be in just a snap. It is a gradual process that needs our whole self to be involved with. We carve ourselves by the learnings we acquire not only from books or school but also from our own experiences. Learning is a lifetime process so we must all be students of life.



Lesson #7



There is a perfect time for everything. Trust time, trust the One who holds time. We have our own life journeys that we must not compare with the pacing of others. Life is no competition. There is a perfect time for achieving, failing, learning, crying, and all other -ings. We just have to put our trust on the One who holds time, as for me, it is God. I am no good at time management, but my God is so, better put my trust in Him.



Lesson #8



It is okay not to trust everyone but learn how to respect them, regardless of.  Trust is difficult to give especially if we have trust issues. We are not obliged to trust people easily for they must earn it. However, respect is something that we have to freely give to anyone, as in everyone no matter what type of background they come from. If they do not respect us back, do not deny ourselves, we have to respect them still. A good plant is a good plant even if weeds grow in its soil.



Lesson #9



Learn to balance things in our hands, juggle them if we can, but if we can't, it is okay. I was a multitasking queen in high school because I chose to be it. But in college, things are different. We cannot balance orgs and acads smoothly all at the same time. And it is okay. If we cannot juggle them with our bare hands, use our feet, if we can't stand for it, lie down while doing so, if we feel restless about our position, learn to put things down and rest. It is totally okay, if we try to take a break (pero break lang ha) to regain energy in order to continue our labor. While we rest, we may learn to try strategies to turn our hard work into smart work.



Lesson #10



Consecrate our bodies, these are a temple of God. We have to love our bodies, take care of it by eating right, sleeping on time, doing exers, and etc. Everything we do is useless if our physical body is weak. Also, keep away from the worldly things that stains our body, God's temple cannot be both worldly and holy.



Lesson #11



Learn to leave things in God's hands. There are things that are hard to accept, especially when we see that something is not right, we can do something about it if we can, but if it does not change, it only implies that God allowed it for a purpose. His thoughts are higher than that of man. He has better plans for us and if He allowed the world to revolve in a way that is strange to us, then let it be, we have to trust Him. (Mahirap, pero promise effective!)



Lesson # 12



Chill. There is beauty in serendipity. Do not take life seriously or else we won't be able to age gracefully. There are things that do not fall as how we planned them to be. But sometimes unexpected moments paint wonderful memories. [On Fridays kasi, I either watch movies or study alone in the dorm. But one time, we had an exam that ended at 9pm, some of my blockmates asked to go out. Four lang kami, I was halfhearted to go with them kasi I have to leave my planned activities for the night but idk what made me decide, (maybe their charm lol yie charming). So we went to UP Town Center and look for a resto to have dinner at. Pero idk ang choosy namin so 10pm we were still figuring out where to eat at. Ending, diners started to close and our only option left was 7eleven. Bumili na kami ng food and decided na kumain sa IRH. The road was congested that time so instead of calling a cab or riding a trike, naglakad kami. While walking on the redbrick in front of a statue in the campus, may nagkwento ng about Da Vinci at tumakbo kaming lahat. To cut it short, it was a funny experience but to tell you all, those crazy nerds I went with are my good friends now.]



Lesson #13



Love books. Read more!! Reading takes us to places and books bring out the inner creativity that we possess. Aside from learning from them, we also discover who we really are through the books that we read. I seldom read books in highschool aside from the required books lol pero now, I want to hoard books and read a lot. It serves as my way to escape from the restless world I am in. It heals my soul.



Lesson #14



Be honest and trustworthy, all the time. Do it even if others are not. We want others to be honest to us, then let's be honest. We want others to trust us , then learn to keep the things they entrust to us by all means.



Lesson #15



Create Art! Do not let the world ran out of beauty. If we cannot see aesthetic around us, then maybe it's time for us to create it. But remember, we do not art for the beauty it presents to our senses, we art to express the art inside our heart and to connect to other people's heart.



Lesson #16



Do not be too hard on ourselves. This is to highlight number 6. Life is a process nga!! When we fail, let us not punish ourselves, it will not change the card we have, it will even worsen how we feel about it. When we commit mistakes, let us not condemn ourselves, it will not correct what we did, instead, let us forgive ourselves and add oil next time.



Lesson #17



Focus on our priorities. Raise your palm, look at it, when you focus on it, everything around it gets blurry, but if you focus on something behind it, your palm gets blurry. The world offers so many things that may distract us from the essential things that matter to us. Minsan, lumalayo tayo, but let us learn to spend time evaluating our priorities from time to time baka nagbago na sila hmmm.



Lesson #18

Make friends and share God to them, but do not be too churchy.


Aging is inevitable but let us age gracefully with the Lord.













And that was me at 19! I covered my eyes coz I don't wanna see myself grow up so quick chzzz.. but fine haha my eyes were puffy coz I cried the night before the day when that photo was taken.


[Remarks: I'm 19 lol but I decided to only include 18 because the 19th lesson will be included on the 20th. So, basically, it's like in a book and I'm yet on the 19th page, the 0th page is like the introduction-ish part.]